This invention relates to a process for reducing engine wear in the operation of an internal combustion engine. More particularly, this invention relates to a process for reducing engine wear in the operation of an internal combustion engine wherein exhaust gas from the engine is recirculated to the intake air supply of the engine, and a water blended fuel is used to operate the engine.
Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems are used for controlling the generation of undesirable pollutant gases and particulate matter in the operation of internal combustion engines. These systems have proven useful in internal combustion engines used in motor vehicles such as passenger cars, light duty trucks, and other on-road motor equipment. EGR systems recirculate the exhaust gas into the intake air supply of the internal combustion engine. The exhaust gas which is reintroduced to the engine cylinder reduces the concentration of oxygen therein, which in turn lowers the maximum combustion temperature within the cylinder and slows the chemical reaction of the combustion process, decreasing the formation of NOx. The exhaust gases typically contain unburned hydrocarbons that are burned on reintroduction into the engine cylinder, which further reduces the emission of exhaust gas by-products that would be emitted as undesirable pollutants from the internal combustion engine.
A problem with the use of EGR systems is that the exhaust gas that is recirculated tends to be highly acidic. This results in premature wear of engine parts. This problem has been overcome with the present invention that involves operating the engine using a water blended fuel composition.
This invention relates to a process for reducing engine wear in the operation of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
(A) recirculating at least part of the exhaust gas from the engine to the intake air supply of the engine; and
(B) operating the engine using a water-blended fuel composition made by combining:
(i) a normally liquid hydrocarbon fuel;
(ii) water; and
(iii) at least one surfactant comprising:
(iii)(a) at least one product made from the reaction of an acylating agent with ammonia, an amine, a hydroxyamine, an alcohol, or a mixture of two or more thereof;
(iii)(b) at least one product derived from: a polycarboxylic acylating agent; a copolymer derived from at least one olefin monomer and at least one alpha, beta unsaturated carboxylic acid or derivative thereof; and a linking compound having two or more primary amino groups, two or more secondary amino groups, at least one primary amino group and at least one secondary amino group, at least two hydroxyl groups, or at least one primary or secondary amino group and at least one hydroxyl group;
(iii)(c) at least one Mannich reaction product derived from a hydroxy aromatic compound, an aldehyde or a ketone, and an amine containing at least one primary or secondary amino group;
(iii)(d) at least one ionic or a nonionic compound having a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of about 1 to about 40; or
(iii)(e) mixture of two or more of (iii)(a) through (iii)(d).
In addition to reducing engine wear, additional advantages of using the inventive process involve reducing the generation of NOx and particulate emissions in the exhaust of the engine. In at least one embodiment of the invention, the engine wear reduction that is achieved is comprised of piston ring wear reduction and/or cylinder liner wear reduction.